I Will Always Remember
by Willowleaf the Jedi
Summary: It Is Remembrance Day, and Leo begins to remember someone from months before. One-shot.


Leo sat on a couch in Bunker 9, examining a piece of machinery. His thoughts raced. Even though they raced he was having a major brain fart. He just couldn't remember what was so special about today… Do you ever get that feeling when you need to know something, but that something is just on the tip of your tongue and you're super-duper frustrated? That was Leo right there.

"OK Leo. It's November. You saved the world just recently, and not to mention got a super-hot girlfriend…" he coughed awkwardly. "Sorry," he muttered hastily to his machine. "Getting a little off topic here." Why he was talking to a piece of machinery, I don't know.

"November," he muttered as he tossed the machine to the side. It made a loud _clang_ as it bounced off the floor. "What's so important about November? And why was I talking to a machine?" He scowled at his stupidity. "Why can't I have brain farts on more simplistic things and not important dates? I swear if I forget my own birthday one more time…"

He stood up from the couch and stretched. He hadn't realized how long he had been sitting there. _Long enough to get a cramp_ , he thought sourly as he headed out the big red doors of the bunker.

His muscles (if you could call 'em that) tensed as he heard a rustle in the leaves. He knew the woods were sometimes infested with monsters. He shoved his hand into his magic tool belt and pulled out a sledge hammer. Just in case. The rustling was coming closer, just close enough for Leo to realize it was probably a camper. No monster was that small! Then he heard the reed pipes. He face-palmed. It was only a satyr.

He continued to walk. Soon he could smell the wonderful aromas drifting from the dining pavilion. He began to smile. Calypso would be there to meet him, and he could ask his friends what was so important about November. Then, he noticed a camper wearing a flashy red poppy on her Camp Half Blood t-shirt. It hit him like a lightning bolt. Remembrance Day!

Leo couldn't help the guilt rising in his throat. He barely remembered anything about Remembrance Day, only the fact that it was an occasion to remember the soldiers and veterans from the World Wars. He shivered at the thought of giving up his life for others- even though he had done exactly that. The thought of death still scared him, even if he had experienced it. He never wanted to think about it ever again.

TIME SKIP

It was night-time and Leo lay in his bunk in Cabin Nine. His thoughts still drifted towards Remembrance Day, and of all the soldiers and veterans who fought. He remembered the poppies he had seen other campers wearing. _I remember a lot of things,_ his thoughts whispered. _Remember…_

Leo got up and shoved a hand under his warm pillow. He pulled out a photo, one he had kept almost for his whole life. Always in his pocket, or his tool-belt. He stepped out of the cabin hastily, silently slipping through the doorway. He clutched the photo to his chest and walked towards the beach. The stars shone like diamonds in the sky, and they contrasted beautifully with the calm, dark setting.

Leo found a large hunk of dried drift wood to sit on, the waves lapping at his feet. He stared at his now-visible photograph. It was from his great-grandfather. His _Abuelo._ It showed Sammy holding Leo when he was a child. Sammy was old then, and there were smile lines and bags under his eyes, but he still smiled wide. Leo could barely make out the scrawled, messy writing on the back of the photograph: _Don't worry. Always remember…_ Leo could tell Sammy had written that. How fitting for the occasion.

Suddenly he heard soft footsteps behind him. He whipped around, only to see Calypso approaching him. She was wearing a long, white skirt that reached to her ankles and her camp shirt. The breeze tousled her braided hair around. Calypso smiled and sat beside Leo on the drift-wood. "Can't sleep?" she asked him. He nodded slightly.

Calypso noticed the photo Leo was looking at. "Who's this?" she asked.  
"My Abuelo, Sammy. The baby's me."  
"Oh." She nodded, wrapping an arm around her boyfriend's skinny shoulders. "It's Remembrance Day, you know?" he asked suddenly.

"Annabeth told me, yeah." Calypso answered. She glanced at the photo again. "You suddenly remem-bering stuff?"  
"Actually… yeah. Like my _Abuelo_. I didn't think of him that much when we went on our quest, but yeah."  
Calypso smiled. "Isn't he the one who loved Hazel Levesque?"

Leo nodded. Calypso continued to smile, clutching Leo's free hand. "Who else do you remember?" she asked, watching Leo. "I, well…," suddenly he stiffened. Calypso faced him worriedly. "Leo?" she asked, the worry evident in her tone. "Are you OK?"

"Echo…" he whispered. "I remember her…" he stared out to sea wistfully. Calypso squeezed his hand. "Echo?" she asked hesitantly. Leo turned to her, his face a tight mask, concealing his guilt. "A nymph I met, I think in Kansas."  
"You met… the Echo? From myths?"  
"Yeah. Hazel and I did." He paused. "Then we left her to do the impossible: Help Narcissus."

Calypso sighed, hugging him tightly. She knew the story all to well, and couldn't help but feel sorry for Echo. "It's OK Leo. If she wanted to leave, she would of left. Right?"  
"Well, yeah…" he said, giving in with a sigh.

"So… do _you_ remember anybody?" Leo asked Calypso.  
"Well, my father. That's pretty much it."  
"Atlas?"  
"No Leo. Poseidon." She said sarcastically.

TIMES SKIP

Leo clutched the drachma in his right hand. It was a bright day, and he was at the beach with Hazel. Her hair blew in the wind as she rubbed her hands together. "I'm glad you remembered this Leo."  
"I'm glad too. Ain't I awesome?"

He got an elbow to the stomach.

"Just Iris-Message her already."  
"Alright alright!" Leo threw the coin into the sea-water spray, hoping he was doing this correctly. "Um… Oh Iris, goddess of rainbows, er… please accept the offering and show us Echo. In Kansas! I think!"

Leo could swear he heard the rainbow snort unbelievably, but a screen with Echo on it popped up. Leo glanced at Hazel, who was smiling wide as she glanced at their now-remembered friend.

"Hey Echo…"


End file.
